The primary way bed bugs can infest homes is by hitching a ride in luggage after staying in a room infested the parasites. You can lower your risk by leaving your luggage in a hot car but if you don't have a car or want more precise control electronics project weblog Soft Solder shows how you can build a DIY hot box from foam insulation board, aluminum HVAC tape, weatherstriping, two incandescent light bulbs, and a computer fan.

Bed bugs are worth serious consideration. I've been lucky enough to never encounter them but if your home becomes infested you are looking at replacing your mattresses or paying for professional extermination. There is a commercial solution but for $320 you can probably build four or five of these DIY versions.

You're basically building a box out of foam insulating board large enough to hold any pieces of luggage and joining the pieces together with aluminum HVAC tape, and adding felt weatherstriping along the door of the box secured by double-sided tape. Once the box is built add a length of wire shelving supported by blocks to hold your luggage. The author used a single 4-foot by 8-foot piece of insulating board to make a box with the interior dimensions of 34-inches by 22-inches by 24-inches. On the inside the author rigged up a light fixture with two 60-watt incandescent light bulbs and a computer fan to help circulate the heat.